(1)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/126 (2) lays down rules on the ratio for the good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC) standard 1. That standard requires the maintenance of permanent grassland based on a ratio of permanent grassland in relation to agricultural area that is to be compared to the reference year 2018. Where the ratio of permanent grassland in relation to agricultural area has decreased by more than 5 % compared to the reference year 2018, the Member State concerned is to impose the obligation to reconvert land into permanent grassland or to establish an area of permanent grassland on some or all of the farmers who have land at their disposal which was converted from permanent grassland into land for other uses.

(2)

In certain Member States, farming systems were affected by structural changes in particular due to a reduction of livestock herds and a decline in the number of farmers specialised in livestock. As a result, the need for livestock fodder has decreased and farmers have shifted their production away from grassland and herbaceous fodder crops towards other crops than those needed to feed livestock. Where such choices have been made, it has become increasingly difficult for farmers to comply with the obligation to establish or re-establish permanent grassland while remaining economically viable. As the shift from livestock to arable land used for the cultivation of other crops than those needed to feed livestock, has been taking place after 2018, the resulting structural changes to the farming systems (and associated difficulties) may have become fully apparent only recently.

(3)

In order to ensure a level playing field between different Member States affected by such structural changes to a different degree, Member States should therefore have the possibility to adjust the reference ratio in the programming period 2023-2027 once, to take into account a decrease in the area of permanent grassland due to structural changes in their farming systems that have taken place as from 2019. With a view to ensuring that such adjustment remains proportionate and in line with the main objective of GAEC standard 1, the adjustment should be limited to the changes in the area of permanent grassland that occurred due to the structural changes in the farming systems of the Member State concerned. To ensure coherence of the assessments of structural changes in the farming systems and the decrease of the area of permanent grassland Member States should base their assessments on the most recent available data. They should use as a basis for their assessments a period of 5 consecutive years, starting no earlier than in 2019.

(4)

While the reference and annual ratios of permanent grassland are determined based on the areas of permanent grassland declared, experience shows that there may be areas of permanent grassland which have not been declared in a given year for direct payments, and are registered as agricultural areas in the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) established pursuant to Article 68 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3). These non-declared areas of permanent grassland, contribute equally to the preservation of carbon stock, which is the main objective of the GAEC standard 1. With a view to the proportionality of the implementation of GAEC standard 1, notably as regards the obligations to reconvert areas into permanent grassland or to establish areas of permanent grassland, Member States should be allowed to decide that those obligations are only imposed at a holding level to the extent that the need for reconversion of land to permanent grassland or establishment of areas of permanent grassland in a given year exceeds the area of permanent grassland registered as agricultural area in the LPIS but not declared for direct payments in that same year. To ensure a correct quantification, only non-declared areas of permanent grassland that remain registered as agricultural areas in the LPIS should be taken into account.

(5)

When farmers have cleared abandoned areas to allow for arable crop production, the total agricultural area may increase, which may lead to a decrease in the annual ratio of permanent grassland beyond the extent of that decrease allowed under GAEC standard 1 as laid down in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115. However, since that decrease would not be caused by the conversion of areas of permanent grassland to other uses but by an increase of the total agricultural area, Member States should be allowed to choose to impose at the holding level reconversion obligations or obligations to establish an area of permanent grassland only to the extent that the decrease of the ratio of permanent grassland in a given year by more than 5 %, at the level at which GAEC standard 1 is implemented, is not caused by the increase in the total agricultural area.

(6)

Further derogations should be provided from the obligation to impose at the holding level an obligation to reconvert an area to permanent grassland or to establish an area of permanent grassland for cases where the decreases in the ratio of permanent grassland below the threshold of 5 % is not occurring due to conversion of areas of permanent grassland to other agricultural uses, such as arable land or permanent crops.

(7)

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/126 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8)

Since the rules laid down in this Regulation determine whether reconversion obligations or obligations to establish an area of permanent grassland must be imposed at the holding level in respect of claim year 2024, it is important to establish these rules as soon as possible to allow for appropriate planning by farmers and consideration by competent authorities. This Regulation should therefore enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(9)

Considering that the claim year 2024 started on 1 January 2024, Article 1 point (2) and (3), of this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2024, to ensure legal certainty for the farmers and other beneficiaries concerned by GAEC standard 1,

(1)

after paragraph 1, the following paragraph is inserted:

(2)

in paragraph 3, the following third subparagraph is added:

‘By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, Member States may decide to impose the obligations at the holding level to reconvert land to permanent grassland or to establish an area of permanent grassland only in the following cases:

(3)

paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: